FIDE Women’s Grand Prix: Vaishali holds former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi

India's Vaishali Rameshbabu held former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi to a composed draw in the penultimate round of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Austria on Wednesday.

With this, her overall tally moved to 4.5 points from eight rounds, and she is now in the joint fourth place.

In a round where both tournament leaders, Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner, were held to draws, Vaishali’s solid performance stood out.

She will now face Anna Muzychuk in a crucial final-round clash that could decide the title and, potentially, a spot in the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament.

Playing with the white pieces, Vaishali entered a Ruy Lopez with the Murphy Defence and gained a slight initiative early on. Despite time pressure — she was down to less than 30 minutes on move 25 — the 22-year-old Indian GM played with poise, navigating her way through a tricky rook endgame.

Tan, looking to grind out a win just as she did in her previous victory over Nurgyul Salimova, even sacrificed a pawn temporarily, but Vaishali held her ground with accurate defense. The game was drawn after 51 moves.

Vaishali now shares fourth place with Georgia’s Nana Dzagnidze, and a strong finish against Anna Muzychuk could not only disrupt the title race but also mark a high point in her international career.

Meanwhile, the battle at the top of the standings remains neck-and-neck. Both Anna Muzychuk and Zhu Jiner, tied at 5.5 points each, were unable to break away in Round 8.

Muzychuk drew her game against Lela Javakhishvili while Zhu’s five-game winning streak was stopped by Austrian GM Olga Badelka.

With everything to play for in the final round, Zhu faces former world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk while Muzychuk, with white pieces, takes on Vaishali — a matchup that could be decisive for the Grand Prix title.

The final round begins on Thursday at 5:30 PM IST, one hour earlier than previous rounds.

Standings after Round 8:

1-2. Zhu Jiner, Anna Muzychuk – 5.5 pts

3. Tan Zhongyi – 5 pts

4-5. Nana Dzagnidze, Vaishali Rameshbabu – 4.5 pts